2023 LPGA Season Odds and Ends

[Argonne69]

3 hours ago, 18majors said:

Cream rises to the top, LET Leaderboard after 3rd round:

 

1.                Maja Stark                 -10

T2.             Aditi Ashok                -8

T2.             Linn Grant                  -8

 

 

 

Is that the new Ping i230 in her hands? 

 

[postfold]

8 hours ago, 18majors said:

Maja Stark won her six LET title, Leaderboard

 

1.                Maja Stark                 -10

2                Linn Grant                  -8

3                Aditi Ashok                -7

 

 

 

Nice work by Aditi Ashok to back up last week's win with a 3rd.    Seems highly probable that she'll have her best season so far.

[JungleJimbo]

6 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

 

Is that the new Ping i230 in her hands? 

 

@Argonne69 “+1” ie yes I think Maja Stark is using the Ping i230 irons. Is that making you ‘itchy’ to try?

 

https://ping.com/en-us/pros/lpga-tour/maja-stark

 

[ChronicSlicer]

11 hours ago, 18majors said:

Maja Stark won her six LET title, Leaderboard

 

1.                Maja Stark                 -10

2                Linn Grant                  -8

3                Aditi Ashok                -7

 

 

Impressed both Maja and Linn are still playing exactly where they left off last year.  Hopefully these silly vaccine mandates end soon, the LPGA could really use a Linn Grant in the regular lineup.

[AKL Kiwi]

1 hour ago, ChronicSlicer said:

Impressed both Maja and Linn are still playing exactly where they left off last year.  Hopefully these silly vaccine mandates end soon, the LPGA could really use a Linn Grant in the regular lineup.

Maja, Linn and Aditi have just shown how poor the strength of the first couple of LET fields have been. I go off how they perform against full strength LPGA fields....Maja T45 CME, Linn T8 Evian, Aditi nothing of note for a few years...let's see in the next few weeks if they have improved against Lydia, Nelly, Atthaya, Brooke, Lexi etc. Linn is not even in the top RR 25!    

Edited February 12, 2023 by AKL Kiwi

[18majors]

Cassie Porter, like so many young players before her, shot a final round 79 and lost the championship.  Jiyai Shin, 34 years old and the final round queen gladly took it.  Grace Kim, eager to prove she's the next big thing from Australia finished second.

But, the final round belonged to Su Oh; she easily beat Cassie Porter by 12 shots to redeem herself!

 

1.          Jiyai Shin                     -14

T2.       Grace Kim                    -9

T4.       Emma Talley                 -8

T4.       Cassie Porter               -8 

T6.       Su Oh                            -7

 

     

 

 

Edited February 12, 2023 by 18majors

[ChronicSlicer]

13 hours ago, AKL Kiwi said:

Maja, Linn and Aditi have just shown how poor the strength of the first couple of LET fields have been. I go off how they perform against full strength LPGA fields....Maja T45 CME, Linn T8 Evian, Aditi nothing of note for a few years...let's see in the next few weeks if they have improved against Lydia, Nelly, Atthaya, Brooke, Lexi etc. Linn is not even in the top RR 25!    

I must say the field looks like a typical week of full time LET'ers to me. Which as we know, certainly doesn't match up to the LPGA. Regardless of strength of field, those two I mentioned are still making birdies to start the 2023 season, which was entirely my point.

In regards to Linn not being in the top 25 world rankings, that's what happens when you play on the LET, they don't get as many ranking points because the strength of field is weaker than an LPGA event.

 

Linn certainly held her own last year playing against LPGA players in the six events she played in. Unfortunately we may not get to see her here in the states, so her interaction with LPGA stars may once again be limited to a handful of events.

[Seamus_McDuff]

2 hours ago, ChronicSlicer said:

I must say the field looks like a typical week of full time LET'ers to me. Which as we know, certainly doesn't match up to the LPGA. Regardless of strength of field, those two I mentioned are still making birdies to start the 2023 season, which was entirely my point.

In regards to Linn not being in the top 25 world rankings, that's what happens when you play on the LET, they don't get as many ranking points because the strength of field is weaker than an LPGA event.

 

Linn certainly held her own last year playing against LPGA players in the six events she played in. Unfortunately we may not get to see her here in the states, so her interaction with LPGA stars may once again be limited to a handful of events.

Grant also only has 26 events and the minimum divisor is 35. She should be top 15 by Summer. 

[ChronicSlicer]

2 hours ago, Seamus_McDuff said:

Grant also only has 26 events and the minimum divisor is 35. She should be top 15 by Summer. 

Which is pretty impressive for someone basically playing the LET.

[Stooch]

The divisor is a double-edged sword at the start, it hurts you more if you finish outside the top10 or better top 5.   You need results or the divisor is really irrelevant. if you're averaging 10 points per event, 35 is still really low in the calculation.  Atthaya was in the top 10 in the world in the 20 event range last season.

[RacineBoxer]

On 2/11/2023 at 5:49 PM, JungleJimbo said:

@Argonne69 “+1” ie yes I think Maja Stark is using the Ping i230 irons. Is that making you ‘itchy’ to try?

 

https://ping.com/en-us/pros/lpga-tour/maja-stark

 

 

 

Linn gonna have the i230's in the bag for 2023 too???

 

 

[Seamus_McDuff]

1 hour ago, RacineBoxer said:

 

Linn gonna have the i230's in the bag for 2023 too???

 

 

 

I think she already does. 
 

photography.

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[Oh Hi Carl]

On 2/9/2023 at 9:18 AM, 18majors said:

 

I breathed a sigh of relief that Bianca Pagdanganan will play Epson Tour, Tournament Entries.  I's worried she might just call it quit.

 

Many LPGA players have signed up to play the first Epson event scheduled for March 3-5; instead of waiting for the first US LPGA event which isn't scheduled until March 23-26.

May any player with at least some status on the LPGA tour enter Epson events? 

[18majors]

46 minutes ago, Oh Hi Carl said:

May any player with at least some status on the LPGA tour enter Epson events? 

Yes, in general, LPGA players outside of top-60 priorities are allowed to play Epson Tour events.  

 

 

[Seamus_McDuff]

6 hours ago, Oh Hi Carl said:

May any player with at least some status on the LPGA tour enter Epson events? 

It’s 12 maximum. Here’s the exact wording,

 

”Priority determined in the following order (maximum of 12 players): - On a week when both Tours play, priority will be given to LPGA Tour Members
based on their position on the current year's LPGA Priority List as of the commitment deadline. An LPGA Tour Member may only play in the Official Tournament through this category if she is not eligible to gain entry into the LPGA field; unless she is playing a test event per the LPGA Medical Extension Policy. - On an off-week for the LPGA, priority will be given to LPGA Tour Members based on their position on the current year's LPGA Priority List beginning with the 61st player on the list and working downward.”

[Stooch]

Ending a sponsorship deal on some imagined hate, is like that episode of Seinfeld "why would you like to return this shirt sir?  I would like to return it because of spite.  Because of spite?"  Also honestly, refusing guaranteed Saudi money but still willing to play for a chance to win Saudi money by competing in their events, just sounds like the dumbest thing ever lol.

 

Citing 'hatred,' Anna Nordqvist ends Aramco deal, but will still play in Saudi Arabia | Golf Channel

 

[Seamus_McDuff]

42 minutes ago, Stooch said:

Ending a sponsorship deal on some imagined hate, is like that episode of Seinfeld "why would you like to return this shirt sir?  I would like to return it because of spite.  Because of spite?"  Also honestly, refusing guaranteed Saudi money but still willing to play for a chance to win Saudi money by competing in their events, just sounds like the dumbest thing ever lol.

 

Citing 'hatred,' Anna Nordqvist ends Aramco deal, but will still play in Saudi Arabia | Golf Channel

 

How is "I wasn't really prepared to get such an incredible amount of hatred and mean comments from people who don't even know me” imagined hate? Are you saying she’s making that up?

[Oh Hi Carl]

1 hour ago, Seamus_McDuff said:

How is "I wasn't really prepared to get such an incredible amount of hatred and mean comments from people who don't even know me” imagined hate? Are you saying she’s making that up?

Maybe the "hate" has caused her to reevaluate her decision to be sponsored by them and instead of saying she realizes that being associated with them may legitimately cause people to question what she stands for, it's easier to just end the deal and blame haters.  

[Oh Hi Carl]

5 hours ago, Seamus_McDuff said:

It’s 12 maximum. Here’s the exact wording,

 

”Priority determined in the following order (maximum of 12 players): - On a week when both Tours play, priority will be given to LPGA Tour Members
based on their position on the current year's LPGA Priority List as of the commitment deadline. An LPGA Tour Member may only play in the Official Tournament through this category if she is not eligible to gain entry into the LPGA field; unless she is playing a test event per the LPGA Medical Extension Policy. - On an off-week for the LPGA, priority will be given to LPGA Tour Members based on their position on the current year's LPGA Priority List beginning with the 61st player on the list and working downward.”

Thank you for the explanations.  Seems fair.  

[Stooch]

1 hour ago, Seamus_McDuff said:

How is "I wasn't really prepared to get such an incredible amount of hatred and mean comments from people who don't even know me” imagined hate? Are you saying she’s making that up?

In short yes, I'm saying she manufactured "imagined hate".  Random people on the internet saying stupid things isn't the real world and has no power over you other than the power you give it.  Unless you are saying random people are walking up to Anna  on the street and saying "You signed a sponsorship deal with Aramco ........ FORE SHAME!!"

[18majors]

26 minutes ago, Stooch said:

In short yes, I'm saying she manufactured "imagined hate".

 

 

I agree, in my opinion, Anna is one of the last players that would walk away from guaranteed money from any endorsement contracts.

 

This case is curious anyway!  Players usually end an endorsement contract quietly independent of whether she initiated it or being terminated.

[Seamus_McDuff]

Stacy Lewis will be Solheim captain in ‘24 also

 

https://www.lpga.com/news/2023/stacy-lewis-named-captain-for-2024-us-solheim-cup-team

 

 

 

[18majors]

I finally know why Malbon Golf is big; because it's officially "Nike Women":

 

malbongolf

Verified

Malbon | Nike Women🏌️‍♀️
as seen on @yealiminoh

 

They've been heavily promoting their new women's wear featuring Yealimi Noh:

 

 

[woahnelly]

2 hours ago, 18majors said:

I finally know why Malbon Golf is big; because it's officially "Nike Women":

 

malbongolf

Verified

Malbon | Nike Women🏌️‍♀️
as seen on @yealiminoh

 

They've been heavily promoting their new women's wear featuring Yealimi Noh:

 

 

/cdn-cgi/mirage/4309acc365d951054d74953387fa743db2a207b50cf7ef1c78ee83dfca9dbf24/1280/cdn-cgi/mirage/4309acc365d951054d74953387fa743db2a207b50cf7ef1c78ee83dfca9dbf24/1280/https://wrxcdn.golfwrx.com/uploads/monthly_2023_02/330819043_1178759106169900_5258177987084166568_n.jpg.3d9d9cbaabe7d155f4dea3aa326b06b1.jpg

 

Is she not signed with DB construction no more ? (Same as Lee6, Su Oh, Somi etc). I guess we will wait and see. 

[18majors]

3 minutes ago, woahnelly said:

 

Is she not signed with DB construction no more ? (Same as Lee6, Su Oh, Somi etc). I guess we will wait and see. 

I’m quite sure she’s with DaeBang, but this Malbon thing is a much bigger deal.

 

I’m curious whether she’ll wear Malbon or DaeBang logo on her hat!

[woahnelly]

37 minutes ago, 18majors said:

I’m quite sure she’s with DaeBang, but this Malbon thing is a much bigger deal.

 

I’m curious whether she’ll wear Malbon or DaeBang logo on her hat!

 

I like the DB Hats. All the Korean company hats are stylish (even Q Cells). The only one I was not a fan of was the SBI logo featured by A Lim and Somi, but looks like A Lim has now replaced Nelly and wearing Q Cells / Hanwha this season, Somi is now on DB as well. RIP SBI

Edited February 15, 2023 by woahnelly

[JungleJimbo]

On 2/9/2023 at 2:35 PM, 18majors said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 15, 2023 by JungleJimbo

[18majors]

 

Rose Zhang, > 50% NCAA winning percentage; she's in Bryan Nelson territory:

 

 

[North Texas]

6 minutes ago, 18majors said:

 

Rose Zhang, > 50% NCAA winning percentage; she's in Bryan Nelson territory:

 

 

 

Is that good?

[18majors]

2 minutes ago, North Texas said:

Is that good?

 

It's OK, not as good as God!